Monday, 12 December 2011

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Tawakul Karman: Islam No Threat to Democracy

"Islam and other religions do not threaten democracy, Yemeni activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakul Karman said on Friday.

"All the religions, they respect democracy. They respect human rights, they respect all the values that all of us carry," said Karman, 32, who will jointly receive the Nobel award on Saturday with two Liberians, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee.

The problem was not with religions themselves, said the Islamist journalist, but with the intolerant interpretation made by some of their followers.

"The only problem is the misunderstanding from the people who act -- Islam, Christian, Jewish or any other religion -- (as if to say) 'this is the religion."